Habitat

Quillback carpsuckers prefer to live in highly productive streams that are moderately deep and clear. Quillback carpsuckers prefer clear water over highly turbid waters, unlike other carpsuckers, but are highly adaptable to slow moving streams. They are also found in lakes (and their tributaries) including the Great Lakes. (Mayhew, 1987)

Physical Description

Quillback carpsuckers have a deeply compressed body giving them a flattened appearance when viewed from the side. They have large silvery scales and greater than or equal to 37 lateral line scales. Silver scales give them a silver coloration from the side fading to a dark color dorsally. Quillback carpsuckers are distinguished from other carpsuckers by their long first dorsal ray which does not extend beyond the posterior base of the dorsal fin. The first dorsal fin is up to five times longer than the posterior dorsal rays, total number of dorsal rays is usually greater than 28. They have an average of seven anal rays. They have a typical sucker mouth and, when viewed from the side, the back of the mouth does not extend past the anterior portion of the eye. Quillback carpsuckers have a deeply forked caudal fin. ("PA Chapter 12 Suckers", 2005; Etnier and Starnes, 1993)

The largest recorded quillback carpsucker was caught in Nebraska on the Missouri River by Patrick Fox Jr. on June 3, 2001, weighing 6.18 kg (13 lbs. 10 oz.) and measuring 71.2 cm (28 inches) in length. ("Hotspot Fishing", 2005)

Development

Quillback carpsuckers are open substrate spawners and hatch from an unguarded spawning area where eggs are released by the female and fertilized by the male (or males). Once eggs are fertilized they take 8-12 days to hatch. ("PA Chapter 12 Suckers", 2005)

Growth averages 7 to 9 cm (3 to 4 inches) per year in the younger ages to about 2 to 4 cm (1 to 1 1/2) inches each year for older specimens. A six year-old quillback carpsucker would be about 31 cm (12 inches) in length and weigh slightly over 450 g (one pound). Quillback carpsuckers are a long-lived species, with fish as old as 11 years found in populations. (Mayhew, 1987)

Reproduction

Male and female quillback carpsuckers make a run, or migration, to their spawning areas where they release eggs and sperm in shallow water over gravelly riffles, sand or mud. ("PA Chapter 12 Suckers", 2005)

Female quillback carpsuckers release several hundred thousand eggs which are scattered haphazardly in shallow water. An average of 64,000 eggs are produced by six year old-female quillbacks (Mayhew 1987). Quillbacks achieve independence almost immediately after hatching. (Mayhew, 1987)

Quillback carpsuckers breed in the spring-summer months depending on water temperature. The ideal water temperature for breeding is 7-18 degrees Celsius.

Average number of offspring

64,000

Range time to hatching

8 to 12 days

Range time to independence

8 to 12 days

Female quillbacks have a pre-fertilization investment similar to other open substrate non-guarding fishes. Females begin developing eggs internally long before hatch which requires energy. Pre-fertilization investment of males is much less than that of females. Neither sex has any apparent parental involvement after fertilization. The eggs are not guarded and they are left to develop and hatch on their own.

Parental Investment

pre-fertilization

provisioning

protecting

female

Lifespan/Longevity

Mortality is high among the eggs, fry and young fish because they provide forage for predatory fish. Among adult quillback carpsuckers mortality is 60 to 70 percent annually. ("PA Chapter 12 Suckers", 2005)

Behavior

Quillback carpsuckers feed and reproduce in schools. Because they do not build nests to reproduce they travel in groups releasing eggs and sperm haphazardly. They also travel and feed in groups similar to other schooling fishes. (Mayhew, 1987)

Home Range

Adult quillback carpsuckers migrate, usually upstream, during reproduction. The exact distance of spawning migration is unknown, but likely dependent on specific location. Quillback carpsuckers, like most other fishes, generally return to their pre-spawn home range after reproduction. ("PA Chapter 12 Suckers", 2005)

Communication and Perception

Quillback carpsuckers use visual and tactile cues to perceive their environment, as do most other fish. Little else is known about perception or intraspecific communication.

Predation

Mortality is high among eggs, fry and young fish because they provide forage for predatory fish. An anti-predator adaptation is the production of several thousand eggs per breeding season to ensure the survival of some offspring. Adult quillbacks are usually not preyed upon due to their size and their schooling behavior. ("PA Chapter 12 Suckers", 2005)

Ecosystem Roles

Quillback carpsuckers are bottom feeders and, like other bottom feeders, they help to keep their ecosystem clean by feeding on bottom matter.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Quillback carpsuckers are a minor commercial fish in the United States with little or no economic benefit to fishermen. Quillback carpsuckers introduced to Mexico however provide an important economic benefit to the northeastern portion of that country. (Page and Burr, 2005)

Contributors

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

benthic

Referring to an animal that lives on or near the bottom of a body of water. Also an aquatic biome consisting of the ocean bottom below the pelagic and coastal zones. Bottom habitats in the very deepest oceans (below 9000 m) are sometimes referred to as the abyssal zone. see also oceanic vent.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

biodegradation

helps break down and decompose dead plants and/or animals

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

ectothermic

animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature

external fertilization

fertilization takes place outside the female's body

fertilization

union of egg and spermatozoan

food

A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.

freshwater

mainly lives in water that is not salty.

heterothermic

having a body temperature that fluctuates with that of the immediate environment; having no mechanism or a poorly developed mechanism for regulating internal body temperature.

introduced

referring to animal species that have been transported to and established populations in regions outside of their natural range, usually through human action.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

natatorial

specialized for swimming

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

omnivore

an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

polygynandrous

the kind of polygamy in which a female pairs with several males, each of which also pairs with several different females.

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

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The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students. ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control.

This material is based upon work supported by the
National Science Foundation
Grants DRL 0089283, DRL 0628151, DUE 0633095, DRL 0918590, and DUE 1122742. Additional support has come from the Marisla Foundation, UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, Museum of Zoology, and Information and Technology Services.